Redemption for Our Fighting Tigers

LSU’s road to redemption continues this Saturday night as the top-ranked team in the land, Alabama (8-0, 5-0 SEC), visits Tiger Stadium to take on No. 5 LSU (7-1, 3-1 SEC). Toe-to-leather is scheduled for 7:11 p.m., which means that the sun will have set in the western sky, and it will be Saturday night in Death Valley.

If there’s any doubt that these teams from the SEC West represent the elite in all of college football, consider that, since the start of the 2011 season, LSU and Alabama have combined to go 38-1 against all other teams. LSU is 19-1 and Alabama 19-0. Wow.

Back to our redemption theme, however. If ever the time was ripe for redemption from that fateful evening on 1/9/12 when the Tigers were mere phantoms of their true selves, that time is this Saturday night. Will the Tigers seize the moment and comprehend that they alone control the outcome of this contest? Or will they detour from the road to redemption and permit the Crimson Tide to once again impose its formidable will?

Similar to the mainstream media’s treatment of Mitt Romney, most have written off LSU’s chances at an upset. Some Vegas oddsmakers have installed the Tide as a 10-point favorite over the Tigers. Clearly, neither the pundits nor the betting pros appreciate the mystique of the ultimate shrine to college football that is Tiger Stadium, especially on a Saturday night.

Why are they mistaken in their haste to announce an Alabama victory over the Bayou Bengals? Because the talking heads have never had the hair stand on the back of their necks as the Golden Band From Tiger Land performs its pre-game four corner salute. Because the “experts” have never drawn in the thick, bourbon-laced air mere feet from the Tiger Stadium turf. Because they’ve never tailgated beneath moss-draped oaks, entered Tiger Stadium, and befriended total strangers from the likes of Crowley, Bossier, and Bunkie, Louisiana – all united by a passion for LSU football.

And, obviously, these know-it-alls clamoring for continued rolling of the Tide have failed to recall classic 1980s films in which underdogs prevailed over bitter rivals.

Who can forget the underdogs in 1989’s “Major League”? No one gave the band of misfit Cleveland Indians a shot to beat the Yankees and win the pennant. But, anchored by Charlie Sheen’s Oscar-worthy performance, the team rallied and proved the pundits wrong in a stunning defeat of the media darling New York team. For an inspiring reminder of Charlie Sheen’s heroics – “Forget about the curveball, Ricky. Give ‘um the heater!” – check out this clip from one of the best movies of the 80s:

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Our LSU Tigers can also find motivation from the ultimate high school sports movie of the 80s, 1985’s “Vision Quest.” Not even Louden Swain’s father gave him a chance to beat the best wrestler in Washington state, Brian Shute. But Louden dropped two weight classes, worked his tail off, and proved everyone wrong in the film’s climactic scene by pinning Shute and winning the state title. Swain raises his arms in triumph and the powerful lyrics of Journey’s “Only the Young” kick in.

Don’t watch the full clip unless you’ve got 10 minutes to kill, but hit the 9:45 mark for a quintessential 1980s cinematic moment:

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Like Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn and Louden Swain, can these Tigers prove the naysayers wrong and pull off an upset for the ages this Saturday night? Of course they can. Will they? That’s a much tougher question.

LSU’s defense, the unit that has carried the team on its back for years, must do even more. Bama quarterback A.J. McCarron is quietly putting together a case for the Heisman. The Tigers must get to him early and often. Rattle him. Harass him. McCarron hasn’t hit the turf all year and certainly hasn’t had the likes of Sam Montgomery and KeKe Mingo coming at him full steam. Hit him hard, impress upon him that this Tiger team is not the distracted group from 1/9/12, and get the raucous Tiger Stadium crowd into it. Good things will happen . . .

Next, underachieving quarterback Zach Mettenberger must lead. While some have called for Mettenberger to have a breakout performance against the vaunted Alabama defense, all he really needs to do is play solid football. Be smart, manage the game, keep Bama’s defense honest by connecting with receivers every now and then, and act like a leader. Mettenberger must rise to the moment yet, at the same time, simply play within himself.

Finally and, admittedly, this is a tall order for a Les Miles-coached team, the Tigers must minimize self-inflicted wounds. Penalties were a rare non-issue in LSU’s best outing against South Carolina. They must be equally rare on Saturday night. Further, LSU cannot afford to hand Alabama the football in gift-wrapped packages known as turnovers. Penalties and turnovers. Far from earth-shattering revelations, but LSU has struggled with these fundamentals and must play its best game of the year to prevail over Bama.

Let’s face it, if LSU and Alabama both play their best games, Alabama wins. But this game takes place on Saturday night in Death Valley. Opposing teams rarely, if ever, stroll into Baton Rouge and play to their potential. As Les Miles is fond of saying, Death Valley is where dreams come to die.

Yes, my friends, the time is ripe for redemption. On Saturday night when the sun has found its place in the western sky, our Tigers will redeem themselves. LSU will extend the nation’s longest home field winning streak to 23, improve its record to 37-1 in Saturday night home games under Les Miles, and Miles will beat Nick Saban for the third time in the last four games.

The road to redemption continues as the legend of Death Valley grows.

Prediction:

LSU 24
Alabama 20

Geaux Tigers!

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